Trustees fail to vote for concert

Published 4:30 am, Saturday, May 5, 2018

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Trustees fail to vote for concert

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

South Jacksonville’s Concert in the Cornfield appears to be over.

Village trustees did not make a motion at their meeting Thursday to continue the concert series after event co-chair and Trustee Paula Belobrajdic-Stewart said she did not want to plan this year’s concert.

Village President Harry Jennings said he didn’t see how the concert could be held this year.

“It’s going to be too late to find another location for a concert in the village this year,” he said. “The farmer who owns the land where we have held the concerts was waiting for the board’s decision. We have looked at a variety of possible replacements for the concert, including some smaller community events throughout the summer.”

The village held the concert for about eight years and had featured such popular country music acts as Luke Bryan, Craig Morgan and Locash.

Belobrajdic-Stewart said she was not interested in volunteering to help with the concert because she doesn’t believe she has support from Jennings.

“I was surprised, yet pleased, at the lack of a motion [to hold the concert],” she said. “It’s not a secret how my mayor feels about me as a trustee. We all sat through a committee meeting where he repeatedly called me incompetent. In my opinion, this shows a pure lack of professional decorum.

“This is not about me as a trustee, but rather as a resident volunteering to help the village with the concert,” Belobrajdic-Stewart said. “If my mayor has no confidence in me as a trustee, why in the world would I think he supports me as a volunteer. Too many hours are put in by so many people that the concert would never be successful without the support of the village president.”

At the beginning of the trustees’ meeting, Pat Manker and her son, Tyson Manker, expressed concern over a flooding issue at their property on East Pennsylvania Avenue.

Utilities Superintendent John Green told the Mankers that a culvert in front of their property will be replaced within the next week and that should alleviate the water problem.

Under the mayor’s report, Jennings appointed Chris Norton to the board of trustees. Norton replaces longtime trustee Steve Waltrip, who resigned in January.

Norton, who has lived in South Jacksonville for 16 years, works at Nestle.

“I agreed to join the village board because I want to assist the residents with any problems that may arise,” Norton said.